The present study examined the psychosocial behavioral skills from children in the age 4 to 18 years old with ASS and/or ADHD in order to determine on which domains the children show deficiencies....Show moreThe present study examined the psychosocial behavioral skills from children in the age 4 to 18 years old with ASS and/or ADHD in order to determine on which domains the children show deficiencies. The sample consisted of a total of 453 children, the parents/guardians were asked to fill in on the internet the Social Emotional Questionnaire (SEV) and the Questionnaire Psychosocial Skills (VPV). The age of the children was between 4 and 18 years, with a mean age of 11.3 years (SD = 3.54). The group consisted of 256 boys (56.5%) and 197 girls (43.5%) with 9.5% of the children are diagnosed with ASS, 12.1% are diagnosed with ADHD and 10.6% diagnosed with ASS and ADHD. The findings showed that children with ASS and/or ADHD show a distinct disadvantage in psychosocial behavioral skills compared to children without a developmental disorder. In addition, children with only ASS or ADHD had better skills than children with comorbid ASS and ADHD. Children with ASS scored lower on the relational and affective skills than children with ADHD. The study further showed that 12-to-18-years-old children have better affective skills and self-awareness than 4-to-12-years-old children. It was also found that girls have more affective skills and self-management skills than boys. This study contributes to detecting deficits in the psychosocial development in an early stage, so that appropriate help can be offered that will possibly prevent further stagnation or even improve psychosocial skills in children with ASS and/or ADHD.Show less
Samenvatting Achtergrond: Psychosociale vaardigheden zijn noodzakelijk om adequaat in de maatschappij te kunnen functioneren. Psychosociale vaardigheden kunnen worden opgesplitst in relationele -...Show moreSamenvatting Achtergrond: Psychosociale vaardigheden zijn noodzakelijk om adequaat in de maatschappij te kunnen functioneren. Psychosociale vaardigheden kunnen worden opgesplitst in relationele - en affectieve vaardigheden, zelfsturing en zelfbewustzijn. Kinderen en jeugdigen met ODD/CD en/of een ASS blijken moeite te hebben met psychosociale vaardigheden. Doel: Dit onderzoek tracht antwoord te geven op de vraag met welke psychosociale vaardigheden kinderen en jeugdigen met ODD/CD en/of een ASS specifiek moeite hebben. Er wordt verwacht dat zowel de groep met ODD/CD als de groep met een ASS meer problemen ervaren met de vier facetten van psychosociale vaardigheden vergeleken met leeftijdsgenoten zonder stoornis. De comorbide groep zal deze problemen ook ervaren; verwacht wordt dat zij relatief het minst moeite hebben met zelfsturing. Leeftijd en geslacht zullen waarschijnlijk invloed hebben op de psychsociale vaardigheden. Methoden: Aan dit onderzoek doen in totaal 402 ouders mee, zij rapporteren over hun kinderen en jeugdigen die tussen de vier en achttien jaar oud zijn. De ouders vullen vragenlijsten in welke betrekking hebben op de sociaal-emotionele ontwikkeling en op psychosociale vaardigheden van hun kind, namelijk de Sociaal Emotionele Vragenlijst (SEV) en de Vragenlijst Psychosociale Vaardigheden (VPV). Resultaten: Kinderen en jeugdigen met ODD/CD en/of een ASS hebben significant meer moeite met relationele vaardigheden (F (3, 401)=110.5, p<.001), affectieve vaardigheden (F (3, 398) =84.8, p<.001), zelfsturing (F (3, 383) =40.4, p<.001) en zelfbewustzijn (F (3, 401)=80.189, p<.000). De effectgrootte is bij alle vier de facetten van psychosociale vaardigheden groot, de effectgrootte van leeftijd en geslacht is klein. Conclusie: Kinderen en jeugdigen met ODD/CD en/of een ASS ervaren op alle fronten significant meer problemen met psychosociale vaardigheden. De groep met een ASS vertoont meer problemen met relationele vaardigheden en minder problemen met zelfbewustzijn in vergelijking tot de groep met ODD/CD, qua affectieve vaardigheden en zelfsturing zijn er geen verschillen tussen de groepen. De comorbide groep heeft met alle vier de facetten de meeste moeite. Het is van belang om een gerichte interventie toe te passen die zich richt op de specifieke vaardigheden waar de meeste moeilijkheden mee ondervonden worden.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2018-07-19T00:00:00Z
This study investigated whether maternal reflective functioning was related to maternal sensitivity during the Still Face Paradigm (SFP). It was investigated whether the SFP elicited the still face...Show moreThis study investigated whether maternal reflective functioning was related to maternal sensitivity during the Still Face Paradigm (SFP). It was investigated whether the SFP elicited the still face effect. Additionally, the effect of maternal sensitivity on infants’ regulatory behaviors during the SFP was examined. Infants’ stress reactivity during the SFP was explored using skin conductance levels. Maternal risk status and infants’ temperament has been taken into account. The sample consisted of 52 mother-infant dyads (mean age infants 5.96 months). Reflective functioning was measured with an interview around 27 weeks of pregnancy. During a home-visit the SFP was administered and mothers reported about the infants’ temperament using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Infant and maternal behaviors were coded based on the SFP. Results indicated that the still face effect was found for arching and squirming, while it was not found for self-soothing behavior. Preliminary results showed an increased skin conductance level, and thus stress reactivity, over the whole SFP. Furthermore, maternal reflective functioning was found as predictor of maternal sensitivity during the SFP. Higher levels of maternal sensitivity predicted more self-soothing behaviors during the first minute of the reunion and less arching and squirming behaviors during the second minute of the reunion. It was not related to any other regulatory behaviors measured. Infants’ temperament was not associated with infants’ regulatory behaviors. The findings of this study can be used in developing interventions to improve maternal reflective functioning and sensitivity, which, in turn, can influence infants’ regulatory behaviors and emotional development.Show less
Children differ in their school performances, which are influenced by their executive functions (EF). The cause of these differences can probably be explained by individual differences in sleep...Show moreChildren differ in their school performances, which are influenced by their executive functions (EF). The cause of these differences can probably be explained by individual differences in sleep duration and temperament. The moderating effect of temperament on the association between sleep duration and EF and mutual relations have been studied. The sample consisted of 499 ‘normal’ children (228 boys, 271 girls) between 9 to 12 years (M = 10.5; SD = 0.85). Sleep duration is measured by a sleep log, temperament factors Extraversion, Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control by the EATQ-R. EF is divided in working memory (Visual digit span task) and inhibition (PVT Go/No-Go). ANCOVA has showed only an association between shorter sleep duration and less working memory for introvert children and the other way around (F(2, 410) = 5.15, p = .006), but not for neutral extraverted children or high extraverted children. Also other temperament factors did not show moderation effects. Furthermore, shorter sleep was significantly related with less inhibition (r = .12), but with better working memory (r = -.52). Extraverted children differ from introverted children on working memory (F(2, 433) = 3.24, p = .040) and little Effortful Control differs from the average level of Effortful Control (F(2, 436) = 3.55, p = .030). There were no other significant results in this study. This study has shown that school performances are not only influenced by cognitive capacities, but also by sleep and child’s temperament traits.Show less
Gevorderde lezers laten een voorkeur zien voor talige informatie gepresenteerd in het rechter visuele veld. Deze voorkeur is ook in toenemende mate te zien bij basisschoolkinderen in samenhang met...Show moreGevorderde lezers laten een voorkeur zien voor talige informatie gepresenteerd in het rechter visuele veld. Deze voorkeur is ook in toenemende mate te zien bij basisschoolkinderen in samenhang met hun leesniveau. In dit onderzoek is bekeken of kinderen voor aanvang van het leesonderwijs op school al een dergelijke voorkeur laten zien, in samenhang met hun niveau van ontluikende geletterdheid. Bij kinderen (N=54) uit basisschoolgroepen 1 en 2 is het niveau van ontluikende geletterdheid onderzocht. Daarnaast zijn taken afgenomen waarbij talige (letters) en niet talige (vormen) visuele informatie, gepresenteerd in het rechter en linker visuele veld, moest worden onthouden. Kinderen bleken ongeacht het niveau van ontluikende geletterdheid nog geen duidelijke voorkeur voor talige informatie in het rechter visuele veld te laten zien. Naarmate kinderen een hoger niveau van ontluikende geletterdheid hadden, maakten zij wel in toenemende mate onderscheid in de visuele informatieverwerking van talige en niet talige informatie in het rechter visuele veld: letters werden beter onthouden dan vormen. Voor het linker visuele veld is hiervan geen bewijs gevonden.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2018-01-01T00:00:00Z
The aim of the present study was to examine infant emotion regulation, expressed in autonomic nervous system-reactivity, during the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP). In addition, the effect of maternal...Show moreThe aim of the present study was to examine infant emotion regulation, expressed in autonomic nervous system-reactivity, during the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP). In addition, the effect of maternal risk status on children’s emotional and behavioural development was examined. The sample consisted of 51 mothers and their 6-month-old infants. Measures of heart rate, pre-ejection period (PEP), skin conductance level (SCL), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were collected during baseline and during the SFP episodes. Infant behavioural responses were coded as well. The SFP was able to elicit sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. In response to the still-face an increase in sympathetic activity was found, but only by SCL and heart rate, not by PEP. In addition, the still-face elicited an inhibition of the parasympathetic nervous system, the RSA decreased and the heart rate increased. In the transition from still-face to reunion, an effect of risk status was found on the pattern of heart rate and SCL. Infants from the high-risk group showed more sympathetic activity, indicating more stress and less emotion regulation. Overall, the SFP is able to elicit physiological features of emotion regulation and is able to indicate early differences in the autonomic nervous system activity in response to stress. Future studies should replicate these findings and should further investigate the role of maternal risk status.Show less
The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent CBM Maze scores were indicators of general reading proficiency for students enrolled in Dutch vocational secondary education (PrO-schools)....Show moreThe purpose of this study was to examine to what extent CBM Maze scores were indicators of general reading proficiency for students enrolled in Dutch vocational secondary education (PrO-schools). Three research questions were addressed regarding the reliability, the validity and the sensitivity to growth of the Maze scores. The participants were 96 students (44 girls; 51 boys; 1 unknown sex) across four school years enrolled in a Dutch secondary school for practical education. The relation between the CBM Maze scores and two criterion variables (a reading comprehension test Nieuwsbegrip and School Grades for Dutch) was examined. In addition, beginning-and-end-of-year mean Maze scores were examined in order to determine whether the scores were sensitive to growth. Positive and moderately to strong correlations provide support for the reliability of the Maze scores. The present data, however, provide only minimal support for their validity. Finally, results suggest the Maze scores were sensitive to growth.Show less
Emotionele beschikbaarheid refereert naar een aantal aspecten van de ouder zoals: meer dan alleen fysiek aanwezig zijn, het kunnen uiten van emoties en de verantwoording nemen voor de emoties van...Show moreEmotionele beschikbaarheid refereert naar een aantal aspecten van de ouder zoals: meer dan alleen fysiek aanwezig zijn, het kunnen uiten van emoties en de verantwoording nemen voor de emoties van het kind. In huidige studie wordt emotionele beschikbaarheid gemeten door middel van de Emotional Availability Scale (EAS), waarin gekeken wordt naar drie aspecten van de ouder: sensitiviteit, structureren en non-intrusiviteit. De onderzoeksliteratuur laat verschillende relaties en voorspellende verbanden zien met betrekking tot de emotionele beschikbaarheid van de ouder. De vragen die in huidig onderzoek centraal staan zijn: Is er een verschil tussen vaders en moeders in emotionele beschikbaarheid naar hun tweejarige zoon/dochter? Hebben werkuren, opleidingsniveau en/of geslacht van het kind een verband met de hoeveelheid emotionele beschikbaarheid? Tweejarige kinderen (N=61) met hun vaders en moeders zijn door middel van tweejaarlijkse huisbezoeken bezocht. De emotionele beschikbaarheid scores zijn gecodeerd tijdens een acht minuten durende ‘vrij spel’ observatie. Uit de analyses is gebleken dat moeders een significant hogere score hebben op emotionele beschikbaarheid dan vaders. Er is geen verschil gevonden in emotionele beschikbaarheid van de ouder naar zonen of dochters. Het verschil in emotionele beschikbaarheid tussen vader en moeder kan niet verklaard worden door het aantal uren dat een ouder werkt. Opleidingsniveau van de vader is wel voorspellend voor de emotionele beschikbaarheid van de ouder, hoe hoger het opleidingsniveau van vader hoe hoger de score van emotionele beschikbaarheid van de ouder. Uit huidig onderzoek kan geconcludeerd worden dat wanneer ouders meer werken zij niet minder emotioneel beschikbaar zijn. Voor vervolg onderzoek kan aanvullend naast werkuren van ouders gekeken worden naar de hoeveelheid tijd die een ouder aan het kind besteed. Tevens wordt aanbevolen meer onderzoek te doen naar vaders ten aanzien van hun emotionele beschikbaarheid.Show less
There is evidence that at an age of 6 months old, infants are able to at least interpret a simple goal-directed action as intentional. But there are still questions on how infants come to a goal...Show moreThere is evidence that at an age of 6 months old, infants are able to at least interpret a simple goal-directed action as intentional. But there are still questions on how infants come to a goal-directed interpretation of human actions. Therefore, we conducted two experiments, investigating the role of cues from the situation and from the actor’s behavior allowing infants to understand the goal-directedness of an action. More specifically, using the violation of expectations method, we examined how 6 and 9 months old infants interpret a simple action of a hand, which does not provide infants with any situational and behavioral cues. Therefore, we first familiarized infants with a reach and grasp movement of a hand towards a toy. This was followed by two test events: one in which the path of the hand was changed (to reach for the same object) and one in which the target object changed (either grasping a new object in Experiment 1 or stopping at the new object in Experiment 2). We found that infants of 9 months old looked both longer to the new goal test event (Experiment 1) and no goal test event (Experiment 2) compared to the same goal test event (used in both experiments). This indicates they found both the reach and grasp of a new goal and the achievement of no goal at all more unexpected compared to achieving the same goal. Six months old infants however, only found it more unexpected when the hand did not achieve a goal anymore, but only when provided with additional situational cues (our control condition). This suggests a developmental shift in the role of cues from the actor and the situation for the interpretation of goal-directed actions of humans by infants.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-08-28T00:00:00Z
This study was conducted to assess subjective quality of life and to distinguish predictors of quality of life in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Young adults with ASD enrolled in...Show moreThis study was conducted to assess subjective quality of life and to distinguish predictors of quality of life in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Young adults with ASD enrolled in higher education were compared to control students without ASD with respect to quality of life, executive functioning, motivation performance, social anxiety, emotion regulation, stress coping abilities, ASD symptoms, adaptive functioning, and self-reflection. Young adults with ASD reported lower subjective quality of life than control peers and showed higher impairment in all of the above-mentioned areas. Within the ASD group, low initiative taking, high internalizing problems, and high negative tension in social situations predict lower quality of life. Together, these findings indicate that deficits in the stress regulation system lead to lower subjective quality of life in young adults with ASD, despite their high functioning.Show less
This study aims to identify the factors that are of influence on parenting stress in parents of autistic children. Previous studies have found that parents of autistic children experience more...Show moreThis study aims to identify the factors that are of influence on parenting stress in parents of autistic children. Previous studies have found that parents of autistic children experience more parenting stress than parents of children without autism or other diagnoses. Parenting stress can result in negative outcomes for the family as stressed parents tend to provide less effective stimulation for the development of the child. Stressed parents also have a higher risk of becoming depressed and having a decreased physical health. The influence of children’s age, parental educational level, the behavioural problems, autistic symptoms of the child and of their parents, on parenting stress were investigated in a group of 39 autistic Dutch children. Children were between the ages of 8 and 17 years old. A control group of non-autistic children (n = 84, Age min = 9, max = 14) was used to examine whether or not parenting stress was higher among the parents of the autistic children. Parenting stress was quantified using the Nijmeegse Ouderlijke Stress Index, behavioural problems with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Autism Quotient-test was used to measure the severity of autistic symptoms in the children and parents. Results indicated that: (1) The parents of the autistic children reported significantly higher levels of parenting stress than the parents of the non-autistic children. (2) Higher levels of education in mothers and more severe autistic symptoms in the autistic children and parents is a significant predictor for the level of parenting stress. (3) Behavioural problems of the autistic children were significantly related to parenting stress. These results confirm previous research, but also shed new light on factors associated with parenting stress in parents of autistic children. This knowledge can be used in psycho-education, prevention and intervention methods for parents of autistic children.Show less
In recent years, the number of adopted children with special needs in the Netherlands has increased, while the total number of adopted children has declined. Because of this shift, adoption agency...Show moreIn recent years, the number of adopted children with special needs in the Netherlands has increased, while the total number of adopted children has declined. Because of this shift, adoption agency Meiling requested an exploratory study on the welfare of adopted children with special needs. In this study parents of adopted children from Taiwan have been questioned by using a digital questionnaire. The research question of this thesiswas: “Are there differences in the care of adopted children from Taiwan with and without special ?” To answer this question, the Leiden classification of special needs was used to specify the special needs. This classification focuses on physical/medical impairments of children. This resulted in two groups: 131 adopted children with special needs and 179 children without special needs. The results of this study showed that adopted children with special needs were more likely to show developmental delays than adopted children without special needs, both when they were placed for adoption and at the time of the study. Also, adopted children with special needs used more guidance and support from different agencies, such as physiotherapy, remedial teaching, speech therapy, and health care than adopted children without special needs. Adopted children with special needs attended special education more frequently and/or needed more additional adjustments in school than adopted children without special needs. Adoptive parents of children with special needs used health insurance, provided additional funding themselves, and received a personal budget (PGB) more often than adoptive parents of children without special needs. When adopted children with special needs from Taiwan were compared with adopted children with special needs from China (N = 189), the results showed that they did not differ in developmental delays at the time of placement nor at the moment of the study. However, adoptive parents of children with special needs from Taiwan more frequently used physical therapy, education and support around temporary assistance / care. From these findings, recommendations for practice are made, such as providing maternity care after the adoption, better collaboration between different agencies, specializing in adopted children with special needs by professionals and long-term follow-up care for adopted children with medical problems, possibly leading to developmental delay. Finally, it is concluded that further research is necessary to gain information about the development of adopted children with special needs. Longitudinal studies, using the Leiden Classification of special needs, are of interest.Show less
